Been Hated Lately?
I’ll make a confession, I like to be liked. Maybe I’m vain, but I don’t go out of my way to do things that will make people dislike me. If given the choice, I will act in ways that are acceptable, even commendable to most all people. And I’ll bet you’re pretty much like me. So what do we do with Matthew 10:21 where Jesus says, “You will be hated by everyone because of me….”? I don’t remember that being mentioned during the altar call when I went forward to accept Jesus. He doesn’t say you might be hated but you will be hated. Somehow the ‘all-in’ life with Jesus will be so offensive to the world that we will be found hateful. As a half-way Christian I didn’t face this problem, I blended into the world quite well. Now I am faced with the challenge of allowing Jesus to so shine through me that the same world that hated him will transfer that hate onto me. Imagine being so closely associated with the radical Jesus that the enemy would work hatred towards us into the hearts of people we encounter everyday. Jesus loved the people he met and he told them the truth about the heart of God. They responded with hatred and nailed him to a cross. Am I ready for that level of being ‘all-in’? Are you?
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” John 15:18
